Nothing is more welcoming on a summer day than an ice-cold beverage to tame the heat. One of my favorite summertime beverages is the mojito, a Cuban beverage made with rum and mint.
I had some leftover basil from a batch of recipe testing for my second book (Beach House Brunch), so I decided to try it out in a new and improved mojito. I replaced some of the mint in my original mojito recipe with basil, and lo and behold, it worked out wonderfully! The basil pairs perfectly with the mint while mellowing out the mint’s intensity. The basil also created a pale chartreuse hue. This subtle twist on a mojito is gorgeous — and delicious.
This mojito recipe is adjustable to taste. You can modify the amounts of herbs, sugar, rum, and club soda to your liking. My favorite rum to use in this recipe is Bacardi Superior. It’s an affordable, easy-to-find rum that tastes great in mojitos.
If you like this recipe and want more like it, check out my cookbook Beach House Brunch on Amazon. 🙂
Basil and Mint Mojito
Ingredients
Directions
- Squeeze juice of lime quarters into a shaker and toss them in. Add torn basil leaves, torn mint leaves, and sugar. Muddle them together to squeeze out any remaining lime juice and release herb oils. Pour in rum; cover and shake well.
- Place some basil and mint sprigs into two glasses; pack each with ice cubes. Pour rum mixture evenly into the two glasses. Top with club soda. Stir gently, taste, and adjust as desired. Garnish with more basil and mint to serve.